Electrically operated parking meter



March 14, 1939. F. R. LANDRUM 2,150,509

ELECTRICALLY OPERATED PARKING METER Filed Aug. 12, 1936 I lllillllllllllllll" -I ll!!! u y H #J/ m I waged for INVENTOR. w 1 4M Q a A? g AfiORNEY.

Patented Mar. 14, 1939 PATENT OFFICE 2,150,509 ELEGIRIOALLY OPERATED PARKING METE v Floyd R. Landrum, Dallas, Tex. Application August 12, 1936, Serial No. 95,553

1 Claim.

This invention relates to a. time parking meter and is particularly adapted for use in large cities for the purpose of alloting the time to different motorists who are tending to business in the 5 various sections of the down-town portion of said cities where the streets are narrow and the traflic is heavy and considerably congested. When in use, the meter is preferably positioned on a post or pedestal which is situated upon the curb and where more than one meter is used they may be spaced at regular intervals or as otherwise desired.

A further object of the invention is to provide a new source of revenue for cities through utilization of the potential parking space in all available streets and in addition provide suflicient space whereby each car may be parked in a convenient and orderly manner.

Another object of the inven on is to provide means for restricting parking in congested business areas to those motorists having business in said areas and further to reduce the number of parkers to those having only temporary business in that vicinity which co-incides substantially with the time limit provided by the meter.

A still further object of this invention is to improve this class of device and service so as to increase its durability, efiiciency and utility.

A further object of the invention is to provide a prominent indicating light as well as a graphic time dial whereby more pronounced designation gfaihe parking period provided or remaining is Another lmportant'feature of the invention is the provision of two indicating lights of separate and distinct colors which are readily visible from any direction. One of the lights such as red for indicating that the meter is not in operation and the other light such as green for indicating that the meter is in operation and also when there is 40 no light burning at all, it indicates that the meter is out of order for the reason that the electric current is not reaching said meter or some of its mechanical parts have become broken and need repair.

A further object of the invention is to provide I of slugs and the like or coins other than those intended to be used.

One of the important features of this invention is that it may be manufactured and constructed from any suitable materials of durabil- 5 ity and that its arrangementand'manufacture is simple and capable of efiicient workmanship.

The accompanying drawing forms a part of this specification in which similar numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in all of the fig- 19 ures of the drawing:

Explanation of fi ures Figure 1 is a view partly in elevation and partly in section showing the working mechanism of the invention as assembled in a case.

Figure 2 is an exterior elevation view of the invention as assembled in a unit and case with the upper portion of the signal light globe broken.

Figm-e 3 is a horizontal sectional view taken 20 on line 3-3 of Figure 2 showing locking and resetting mechanism of the meter with the said mechanism dis-engaged from the meter dial.

' Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 3 showing the locking and re-setting mechanism in engagement with the meter dial for turning thesame.

Figure 5 is a cross sectional view taken on line 5-5 of Figure 3, transversely of the locking mechanism.

Figure 6 is a perspective view of the locking sleeve for the tumblers of the lock.

Figure '1 is a vertical sectional view taken of line 1-4 of Figure 1 showing the bearing connecting between the switch actuating arm and the pe-. rlpheral cam face of the meter dial.

Figure 8 is a wiring diagram of the electrical connections between the elements of the invention.

Constructiofii In the drawing, the numeral l indicates an 40 electric lightglobe, preferably of a vivid color such as red, which is mounted on the top of a case or housing A within a transparent glass bowl B, attached to the top of the case. Another electrlc light globe 2 preferably of vivid color which is distinctive from that of globe I such as green, is likewise mounted on top of the case A and within the Bowl B. As best shown in Figure 8, these globes I and 2 and a two way mercury switch 3 are wired together for connection in an electric circuit C in such a manner that the globes will be lighted alternately depending on the position of the switch.

As shown in Figure 1, the mercury switch 3 is within the case and has a trip arm 4 extendhereinafter be explained.

ing therefrom into a coin slot 5 whereby a coin inserted in said slot will engage the arm 4 and trip or tilt the switch 3. A spring 1 extends from the opposite side of the switch to that of the arm 4 into engagement with an adjustable screw 3. to provide an adjustable tension or balance for the switch.

As best shown in Figures 1 and 7, the switch trip arm 4 has a vertical yoke 9 extending upward therefrom and within which a roller bearing mounted for engagement under tension of spring i, with the periphery or cam edge II a rotatable disc i2 whereby the rotation of said disc will cause the trip arm I to be raised or lowered in accordance with depressions H or projections l4 in the periphery of the disc and thereby actuate the mercury switch.

This cam disc is mounted on the shaft of a small electric motor l5 that is positioned within the case, and has a time dial IS on its outer face.

motor 45 is running and the dial rotating.

As best shown in Figures 3 to 7 inclusive, a lock 18 is mounted in the case opposite the disc i2 for use in manually resetting the disc as will This lock is similar to the common rotating barrel type except that the usual irregular projecting lugs IQ of the barrel 20 are constructed and adapted to protrude only from one side of the barrel when in a locked position when the key 26 is look. In this way the lugs, whenin a locked position, will extend within the longitudinal slot 2| of a sleeve 22 which encircles the barrel, and when in 'an unlocked position will be withdrawn in the barrel enabling said barrel .to be rotated freely in the sleeve. The lock barrel 20 has a stud 23 at its inner end adapted for engagement within a hole 24 in the disc l2 for rotating the disc upon rotation of the lock barrel.

A coil spring 25 confined between-the hub end of the lock barrel and the inner end of the lock housing maintains the lock in normal disengagement from the disc.

Operation With the parts of the-invention in the positions shown in full lines in Figure l, the meter is not in operation and the electrical circuit is closed through the mercury switch to the red light I.

Upon the insertion oi the prescribed coin D in slot 5, the weight of the coin will overbalance the tension 01' the spring I, sufllcient'to move the trip arm .4 and its connected parts to the positions shown in dotted lines, thus disengaging the roller ilirom the adiacent indention l3 of the disc and freeing same for rotation upon operation of the electric motor I5.

With the depression withdrawn from the tion I I will engage the roller and thereby depress the arm 4 suflicient distance to enable the coin D to drop into a suitable collection box 26a. As the arm 4 is freed from the weight of the coin, the roller ID will re-engage with the disc under tension of the spring I, continuing operation of the meter until the roller engages in the next depression 13 of the disc. As the roller engages in'said depression, the arm 4 is raised under tension of the spring i to the position shown in full lines of Figure 1, whereupon the switch 3 is tilted, breaking the electrical circuit to the motor and the green light 2, and closing the electrical circuit to the red light i which is lighted to indicate that the meter is not in operation.

The depressions I3 and the projections H. on

the disc correspond in number with the number of time divisions indicated on the dial and are relatively positioned'with such time divisions so that each operating sequence of the meter will coincide with each of the indicated periods.

It is pointed out that the tension of the spring i may be varied sothat upon the insertion in the slot of a coin or slug which is heavier than the coin provided for, the additional weight of the slug will depress the arm 4 sufficient to drop the slug in the box 26a. immediately freeing said arm for return to its normal position with the roller re-engaged in the depression i3 and the meter remaining inoperative. If a coin or slug which is lighter than that provided for, such slug will have no effect on the arm but will remain in the slot supported by the arm until a second coin is deposited, under which condition the first coin will pass into the box and the eil'ect of the second coin on the arm will be determined by its weight as described above.

Provision is made in this meter for the resetting of parts to a non-operating position with the use of a key, for obvious reasons and advantages such as the cancelling of unused parking time. In re-setting the meter the key 26 is whereupon the barrel is proper positioning of the sleeve 22 of the lock the key cannot be removed until the parts have been fully restored to their non-operating position.

What I claim is: In an electrically operated nal means indicating operating and dormant consaid disc to preof rotation of the latter. FLOYD R. LANDRUM. 

